Speaking exclusively to The Sun Online ahead of tonight's performance, Lauren said: “I’m so proud to have made it to the semi - finals of Strictly.

"The competitor in me always wanted to make it as far as I possibly could. Every week has brought challenges but together with AJ, who has been nothing short of amazing, we have managed to overcome them.

"It’s been such an incredible journey and I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of support we’ve received.

"Normalising disabilities was one of the reasons I wanted to do the show and I hope that I’ve helped in some way to achieve that. To make the finals would just be the icing on the cake."

It hasn't been easy for Lauren and her professional partner AJ Pritchard as she faced tough criticism from the Strictly Come Dancing judges throughout the competition.

The pair crashed to the bottom of the leader board last week after Craig Revel Horwood gave them five out of ten in the salsa.

But Lauren lashed out at the judges, ­saying: “They have been harsh. Last week in the salsa there were comments that AJ led me with my hips — well, he wasn’t going to lead me with my right arm, was he?

In fact dance partner AJ has often had to find new ways to do routines because Lauren was born missing her lower right arm.